New Retic... Help!!!!

Hi all, need some help here. I adopted a Tiger reticulated python yesterday, and bought a new enclosure for him. My main thing is I need help setting up the enclosure correctly. "Tiger" (original right?) is approximately 6 ft long and 2 years old. He seems slim compared to my Ball python- Im not sure if he's underfed, or just a slender species. I know he didnt have much space at his last home- he was in a ten gallon tank.
Moodwise he seems ok, he doesnt strike or hiss. I fed him as soon as I got him (of course!), and after that he was antsy.. He wouldnt stop moving around in his feeder tub, and when I put him back in the cage he actually struck the glass when I put my finger next to it.
He also managed to escape within an hour of owning him. xD

So- here's what I need help with- one, he has to go to the vet. He has a respiratory infection, I think. He is wheezing, so Im pretty sure that's what it is. He needs a checkup anyway since I just got him. Is there anything else I should ask the vet to do? Also- you have to have a license to own Tiger, which I didnt know. Are they going to take him from me at the vet?? It's only a twenty dollar license, it's just that I haven't even had him 24 hours lol.

Next, his cage. The aquarium is 6ft x 18in wide x 2ft tall. It sits on a stand, the on with the cabinets under it and the open back. I need help with positioning his equipment so that his cage has the appropriate warm/ cold side. Help with humidity would be awesome too. I bought the Zoomed combo deep dome fixture for his basking spot, with a 75w day bulb, and a 75 w night bulb. That was just to get him started in his new cage.
I will start reading about retics asap, but any help from yall would be awesome. A list of needed equipment and their approximate placement would be fantastic.

I know it seems like I took in a snake that Im not ready for, but the poor thing had it horrible where it was at. Someone is talking about dumping a 9ft one on me this weekend, THAT'S the one I'm not prepared for. xD

Thanks people!

PS Last question... Like I said he is a tiger retic, and his coloring is gorgeous. I mean GORGEOUS. When we move him in the light, he looks.. like a rainbow. His scales seem to be iridescent. Is that normal?

Yes, I understand that he is going to be huge. I had done preliminary reading, because after seeing the pictures of Pandora on this forum I had decided I wanted one. I'd planned on waiting til I had made an enclosure that he could stay in. I saw this one though and felt srry for it- the guy said it was 3ft and had it in a hermit crab tank. :c So I went ahead and got him early.
I had read that they can grow up to 5ft in each of their first three years. He is two years old and only 6ft. Is his growth going to be "stunted"?

Retics are very very very tempermental at best and sometimes mean.... This is no ball python. It's going to get 16-18+ ft long and appx 100 pounds. Retics are tempermental thier entire lives. Anyone who tells you differently is living in a fantasy world or lying.

Read caresheets. Most of the info you need is in them.

I'm not being mean here, but if you don't even know how to set his cage up, why would you adopt an animal you have no clue about..........

I've met A LOT of sweet tempered, healthy Retics. I think (no offense TJOHNSON) That they are the Pitbulls of reptiles. People think they are mean, so they never put work into them. But when you do, you can be rewarded with a smart, sweet snake.

I'm not being mean here, but if you don't even know how to set his cage up, why would you adopt an animal you have no clue about..........

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Asking for advice doesn't mean I have no clue about the animal; as I said, I had done preliminary reading, in preparation for buying one. My main concern was the cage- It's huge, and I thought it would be easier to ask for a good setup for such a large tank rather than to experiment on the animal.
Also... The previous owner had him in a Hermit Crab tank. I felt bad for him. :c

It may vary where you live, but Animal hospitals are not the police. If a permit is required, they are likely to inform you of such. Unlikely they will take him from you. A friend asked me a similar question about her unlicensed dog. Lol

It may be best to get an under tank heater so you don't dry the air out with the bulbs, maybe some insulation around the glass if it is an aquarium. Glass is a poor insulator, and you will also lose most of your heat and humidity out of a screen top.

Asking for advice doesn't mean I have no clue about the animal; as I said, I had done preliminary reading,

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But we don't know you. All we know is you were asking some very basic questions about keeping a snake which can get big enough to be very dangerous!
We would be derelict in not pointing things out.
I personally know a keeper who has kept retics for 20 years. And one of his just recently sent him to the hospital by nailing him in the face!
All we are tying to do is make sure someone doesn't get in over their heads. People can read that a snake gets so big but don't really understand just how big that is. This is an animal that can go from eating rats, to rabbits, to goats and pigs!
You need to be ready for something like this!

LOL! Thats usually what happens with that shot. Buttercup, the albino burm stands out so she gets first look. Then the eyes go to the ground!
The retic and the burm belonged to Bob Clark a local reptile breeder. The retic is the legendary "Fluffy". If I recall she was 12-13 years old at the time.
Fluffy has since passed on.

And the picture says 1000 words. Sorry if I offended you. However, when you say you got a Retic then ask how to set up the enclosure I immidiately thought oh dear god they have no clue what they are doing. If you maybe had worded it differently, I wouldn't have been so blunt.

Ripkabird, we could go round and round with the meanness of animals. Lol I stand by my "never trust an animal completely". It's striking at her already which leads me to believe its there already and a lot of work, I mean A LOT of work, will have to go into it to make it tame. As a Retic itself and a rescue that sounds starved on top of that. When you add it up 1+1=2.

To the comment about unlicensed dogs. the dog warden can and will take the dog from you after a warning and a fine if you do not comply. And i wouldnt compare an animal that can kill and eat a pit bull to a pit bull itself. People think pit bulls are mean because of the media and the bad rep people who have never met one spread and believe. 95% of pit bull bites arent even pit bulls they are from labs rotts and mix breeds. any dog that has a "square head" and muscular body will be called a pit. Reticulated Pythons ARE very tempermental and can be mean thats just that snake. even TJOHNSON says so and i do believe she owns at least one if im not mistaken. i have a friend who used to breed retics and he'll even tell you they are a very very tempermental snake. i will not own one. first off i have a 2 year old and possibly another on the way and 2 pit bulls. i do not want something in my house that can easily kill me or my family. my fiance wanted a gator and i told him flat out hes retarded because someone told him it only gets 2 feet. i had to show him they can get 12 feet and can kill you with one bite if in the right place and if you live you will most likely lose the limb.

And to the original poster, if this snake is 6 feet already i would LOVE to know how it fit in a 10 gallon tank?

First thing is cover the top screen with wood of plexiglass (what I use) and leave enough room for your lights. Don't use high wattage bulbs or you'll cook the snake and think about an UTH but remember it can't be on all the time or it too will burn the snake. Covering the screen with help with humidity.

Don't know you so I wont question your ability to keep the animal but I will say thanks for taking the poor thing out of a 10gallon! Previous owner deserves something done......$$%%$#$% I'm sure we all know what I mean. Be aware of what you're getting into and I would think the Vet or anyone else will give you a chance to get the permit before you have it taking away. Good luck!